Skimmer/Equalizer - not sure how everything should be set

[etuser]

Hi - so I am learning more and more about my pool that I inherited in a recent home purchase.

On the pool side going into my pump, there are two pipes - one labeled skimmer/main drain and the other labeled skimmer. I have 2 skimmers and 2 drains at the bottom of the pool. I believe the skimmers are Pentair Admiral skimmers.

One skimmer has two holes in the bottom that are both open. The other skimmers has the same two holes, but has a float assembly placed on top of the two holes. The float assembly has a rotatable flap on the bottom for some sort of adjustment.

Can someone explain how this all works and how I should have it all set?

Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Your suction lines share more than one device. While in some cases you can adjust where you pull water from by a 3-day valve near the equipment pad, some skimmers (with 2 holes), mean that while one hole goes to the pump, the other goes to another skimmer or drain. The saucer looking thing (diverter) lets you adjust how much water you want to allow to be pulled from the other device (skimmer or drain). You can experiment with it to see how it works best for your pool. Hint - usually skimming the water's surface is most important to catch debris in the skimmer before it sinks. But you can experiment.

 

[etuser]

Thank you. Is there a good way to tell where each of the two holes in each skimmer lead? Are the options (i) suction to the pump, (ii) main drain, and (iii) other skimmer?

 

[Texas Splash]

Sometimes it depends on how the builder ran the pipes. For the skimmer closest to the equipment pad, I'm guessing that's the skimmer with 2 holes and the diverter disc? If so, the hole closest to the pad goes to the pad. The other hole (pool side) runs to either a drain or the other skimmer. You'll have to just play with it and watch for more or less suction at the other device. Sometimes it helps to have another person with you while adjusting the divert or 3-way valves.

 

[etuser]

Thanks again. I’ll check that out. What is the theory or purpose of plumbing with the equalizer port?

 

[etuser]

@Texas Splash Thank you. You are correct that the diverter disc is in the skimmer closest to the equipment. The skimmer farthest from the equipment does not have a diverter disc. Wouldn't it need one also?

 

[Texas Splash]

Wouldn't it need one also?

No. It's at the end of the line. Ha. If it does have 2 holes in the bottom, One was probably sealed by the builder. Sometimes during install, all they have are 2-hole simmers.

 

[etuser]

Got it. The far skimmer does have 2 holes. Guess I could put a plug in there. Is there any way to confirm it isn’t open to anywhere?

 

[Texas Splash]

Guess I could put a plug in there. Is there any way to confirm it isn’t open to anywhere?

Should be no need to plug. One hole should already be closed from underneath (during install). If you were curious as to which one was actually pulling water, you should be able to feel some suction placing your hand over each hole. My guess would be the hole facing the pool is pulling water and the hole facing away from the pool is closed.

 

[etuser]

Thx!

 

[etuser]

One more question - based on my plumbing outlines and pictures above, do you think the two main drains just connect to the skimmer equalizer, or do they have separate plumbing that ties together at some point before entering the skimmers valve? I ask because one side of that valve says Skimmer/Main Drains and I don’t seem to have the ability to close off the main drains there. So wondering if the main drains are only having suction through the equalizer fitting (so in essence they don’t normally have suction) or if there is really no way to avoid suction from the drains. Thanks.

 

[Texas Splash]

Really hard to know for sure. Since one line says "skimmer/drain", we can assume that one skimmer (I'm thinking the closest skimmer to the pad), has its second hole going to at least one drain - maybe two. Continuing to a second drain would seem excessive, but it may be that way since since the other branch line only says "skimmer". I'm thinking that other line goes to the skimmer farthest away. But the only way to know for sure is to close one side/branch line, and feel for suction at each device. Then close-off that line and open the other to see what changes. You also have a diverter disc in at least one skimmer which would indicate that hole underneath goes to another device. So you'll have to just play around with them all, then make some notes for future reference. Pool builds, specifically plumbing, is builder-dependant. The way your plumbing is routed could be totally different from your neighbors.

 

[etuser]

Thanks for all the advice!